Westfield Babe Ruth Tops Pittsfield 13s in Game One of Series
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – JJ Gonzalez Monday led the Westfield Babe Ruth 13-year-old All-Stars on the mound and at the plate in a 10-2 win over Pittsfield to open the best-of-three Western Massachusetts Championship Series.
Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. He also earned the win on the bump by striking out three, walking one and allowing one run in 4 and a third innings of work.
He was locked in a pitcher’s duel with Pittsfield’s Mateo Herrera early, but one moment of shaky defense opened the door to a big third inning for the visitors, and Pittsfield never recovered at Deming Park.
Westfield’s Lucas Maak worked a walk to start the third, bringing its No. 9 hitter to the plate, and Jaedon Badillo dropped down a bunt. Pittsfield’s defense surrounded the ball but could not produce a throw, allowing Badillo to reach.
Then the next Westfield hitter, Eric Dean, got his bunt down and reached first to load the bases with nobody out and bring the top of the order to the plate.
Three of the next four hitters singled – Gonzalez driving in a pair – and the visitors produced seven hits in all in the rally that left them with a 6-0 lead.
“We practiced it the last two weeks, bunt defense, first and thirds,” Pittsfield coach Francis McKeon said. “We just, we’ve got to make an adjustment where we see fit.
“Other than that third inning, we’re right in that game.
Pittsfield got one run back in the bottom of the fourth.
Herrera worked a one-out walk, stole second, moved up on a passed ball and scored on Ryder Froio’s single up the middle to make it 6-1.
But a costly error in the sixth produced two of Westfield’s three runs in the inning, allowing it to stretch the lead to 9-1.
“I thought our pitchers pitched well and threw strikes,” McKeon said. “We’ve just got to back them up, defensively. It’s a different ballgame if we make those plays in the third inning.”
Froio, Jacob Knauth and Andrew Scalise pitched after Herrera left following the third inning. The four combined to strike out six.
Knauth also produced one of Pittsfield’s four base hits to start the sixth inning – a double to the left-center gap to start the inning.
He moved up when Froio grounded into a fielder’s choice with runners at first and second and scored on an errant throw to make it 9-2.
“Offensively, we just took too many strike threes down the middle of the plate,” McKeon said. “We couldn’t get it going offensively. We’ve just got to come back Wednesday and make an adjustment.”
Westfield tacked on a run in the top of the seventh.
The two teams will meet again on Wednesday at Bullens Field in Westfield in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. If necessary, Game 3 will be on Saturday.
